Eye Of The Snake
by December93
Summary: When you love someone enough you keep fighting for them even though you know the end is not in your favor. Rated M for violence.


**Chapter one: Choice**

* * *

"There are approximately 1,585 people in this pathetic village of yours. My orders are to take at least ¼ of your village which comes out to 396 men."

The man in front of me is scrawny and weak, with an endless supply of wrinkles. I snort at the thought of this man being the leader of any village.

"And if I refuse?" His raspy voice asks.

"If you refuse I will have no choice but to take the villagers by force and set this whole village on fire, killing anyone who gets in my way." Orders are orders after all. It's either my head or theirs.

**_Flashback_**

_"Kai, go down to the villages written in this scroll and bring back ¼ of all the villagers, preferably men. If they refuse then burn down their village and take all of the villagers as your prisoners. If anyone tries to stop you then kill them. If they however give into my demands then bring them to the closest hideout for training."_

_I lift my head up from my kneeling position "I will not fail you lord Orochimaru" _

_A grin breaks out on his face "I shall hope not."_

_His sickening eyes hold a promise of death if I fail or rebel against him. I have gotten so use to threats over the years that it doesn't even faze me. I'm not afraid of death. My heart is cold and numb. I feel nothing. It's the price I had to pay for my sanity. _

**Flashback ended**

"No… I won't do it. We may be small compared to other villages, but we can still hold our own against thugs like you!"

For a moment I stay silent, waiting to see if he is completely serious. He is.

"Suit yourself." I walk out of his office; my hand automatically goes to my back pocket for my radio.

I put it close to my lips and say the words that will send many to their deaths "Do it."

Before I even reach the exit to the building I can already here screaming and explosions coming in all directions. It would have been unwise of me to let the village leader have a chance to alert the rest of the village about our little invasion. So it was better to act as soon as I got his answer. After all, Orochimaru wins either way. Either he gets subjects for his experiments or he gets soldiers to do his biddings.

My name is Kai. I am 22 years old with temple length black hair and black eyes. I have been Orochimaru's subordinate for 5 years now. I am a rogue ninja who betrayed my clan.

I had been running from the ANBU Black Ops for over a year. It was a constant cat and mouse chase and I must say it was getting a little annoying. So when Orochimaru approached me and offered me power in return for my loyalty, I did not turn it down. I quickly went up in rank, passing by others who had been there far longer than me.

Since then, I have done things that people could not even begin to imagine. I still can't believe some of the things I do sometimes. However, If I had the chance to do it all again, I would choose the same path.

**5 Hours Later**

The village is totally engulfed in flames from what I can see from the hill I'm standing on.

"Sir, all of the prisoners are bonded and separated. We can leave whenever you're ready."

I turn to face the man. The only thing I can see are his eyes; everything else is covered by a mask.

"Very well, let's head out." I get on my black horse that I took from a previous invasion earlier that month.

All the civilians are separated into groups of women/children and men. I ride around them making sure everyone is bonded and secure. I look at how the mothers cling to their crying children and the men who are trying to keep a brave face, but are failing.

I ride next to one of the soldiers. "How many prisoners do we have?" The man quickly looked down at a clipboard. "451 men and 508 women and children."

"I see." So only 959 people made it out alive. That's good compared to the last village we invaded. I have men on horses surrounding the prisoners and men on foot with drawn swords. It's about a 12 hour journey to the nearest hideout.

**3 Months Later**

"16 villages agreed to your proposal, while 9 villages turned it down. In total you gained 10,900 soldiers and 8,557 prisoners."

"Good work Kai. We are now one step closer to achieving my goal."

I nod my head in agreement. Orochimaru is seated in his normal chair with book shelves and weird objects on tables around him.

"Tell me Kai, how many prisoners were brought to this hideout?" I glance down at the clipboard and look up. "503. The majority are just women and children. The last village was full of hot blooded men who rushed eagerly to their deaths. We only managed to capture 110 of them."

"Oh well, I'll have to work with what I have, I suppose." Shadows from the candles dance across his face.

"Will that be all Sir?"

"Ku ku ku, eager to leave are we? Very well, you may go."

I make my way into the candle lit hallway. It has been 3 long mouths since this mission had begun and finally it's over with. Now I just wait until I'm assigned a new one.

In the distance I can see a figure getting closer. It appears to be a man of average built with gray hair, glasses and is wearing all purple. I quickly identify him as Kabuto.

"Kai, you're back."

I meet him half way. "So I am."

We look at each other for a moment and then he turns in an uncomfortable manner and puts his hands on his hip. A gesture that says 'How can I put this'

"So did any villages refuse lord Orochimaru's proposal?"

"Yes, in fact 9 of them did."

He smiles boyishly "What a pity."

Kabuto doesn't even try to hide his pleasure in knowing that he and Orochimaru will have more test subjects to work on, the sickos. I never quite knew what to make of Kabuto, except that I can't trust him. I can't trust anyone really.

"Well, I'll be seeing you." Kabuto says with the same boyish smile as he walks past me.

The rest of my walk to find an empty room is silent; all I hear is the flickering of candles. The room I stay in is a standard room with a desk, bed, and bathroom, nothing special. I don't bother to light a candle. I can figure out where everything is without it.

It's safe to say that I will never dream again. Dreaming is for people who have something to dream about. So as I close my eyes tonight I can welcome the darkness that awaits me.


End file.
